Joe the Foe
England’s bulwark Root looms large for the Proteas
● As if Cricket SA doesn’t have enough problems on and off the field, the Proteas have the significant matter of one Joe Root, who has found form at precisely the right time for England, to worry about.
He’s the captain and England’s best batsman, which is why they need him in top shape for the four-Test series that starts on Boxing Day at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
Root, who has 88 Tests since his 2012 debut against India in Nagpur, came of age as a batsman on England’s previous tour success in SA in 2015/16.
He charmed his way to 386 runs at 55.14 and the series-sealing knock (110) in the third Test at the Wanderers.
He was third-highest run-scorer in the series behind Hashim Amla (470) and Ben Stokes (411).
Former Proteas and Knights top order batsman Boeta Dippenaar said it was prudent for England to have their best batsman in form. Root also scored 190 against SA in 2017 in his first match as captain.
“He’s a world-class Test player with 7,800-plus runs, so he’s definitely someone to be concerned about.
“However, I do think the SA bowlers can put pressure on him because of the questionable opening pair England have.
“The No 3 position is a critical one that England haven’t filled adequately. They are trying Joe Denly, but he’s lukewarm at this stage,” Dippenaar said.
“SA can use that to their advantage because he is a key player for the England side. Your best batsman goes in at four and the history of the game has proven that. He should bat at No 4.”
Root has been batting well, but hasn’t quite hit the high notes reached by his contemporaries Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Virat Kohli (India) and Australia’s Steve Smith.
In the past 25 innings, Root has crossed 50 six times but converted thrice with nine single-figure scores.
Kohli (five fifties; six centuries), Smith (six centuries; seven fifties) and Williamson (four centuries; six fifties) have outmatched him from the same number of knocks.
It’s clear Root hasn’t been threatening recently, but whether SA can counter him with the current coaching uncertainty is another story altogether.
“There’s so much uncertainty in SA cricket, I don’t know if they've got to that planning stage yet.
“There’s so much uncertainty, it’s a massive concern that we can’t get to focus on things that need to be focused on,” Dippenaar said.
“There’s just too much uncertainty and stuff that shouldn't be of worry at this moment. Things need to be tightened down and it’s concerning that there’s no clarity and there’s no leadership.”
Dippenaar, who played in the 2004/05 home series that Graeme Smith’s SA side lost 2-1 to Michael Vaughn’s rapidly improving England team, said the bowlers could be in for a wonderful series because of the respective batting weaknesses. There’s massive question marks regarding the composition of both top orders with only Rory Burns and Dean Elgar having some form for the teams.
“I do think both sides have questionable top orders, so I think this series will be decided by the team that bowls better. There’s very little quality in both top orders aside from Root in the England team and Faf du Plessis for SA. There’s very little in between,” Dippenaar said.
“England’s bowlers may enjoy SA’s conditions as they tended to be sporty. We’ve seen over the past 3-4 years that they’ve been heavily in favour of our bowlers. That’s also not a very good thing because it gives the bowlers a false sense of security and undermines the batsmen’s confidence.”
This series will be decided by the team that bowls better. There’s little quality in both top orders Boeta Dippenaar
Former Proteas batsman